UPSC Prelims-2017 Special MCQ-6 (Polity): Answer with Explanation

Answer with Explanation for Polity- Special MCQ-6

Q1. Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

In 1942, Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of the cabinet, came to India with a draft proposal of the British Government on the framing of an independent Constitution to be adopted after the World War II. The Cripps Proposals were rejected by the Muslim League which wanted India to be divided into two autonomous states with two separate Constituent Assemblies. Finally, a Cabinet Mission was sent to India. While it rejected the idea of two Constituent Assemblies, it put forth a scheme for the Constituent Assembly which more or less satisfied the Muslim League.

Composition of The Constituent Assembly

The Constituent Assembly was constituted in November 1946 under the scheme formulated by the Cabinet Mission Plan.

The features of the scheme were:

The total strength of the Constituent Assembly was to be 389. Of these, 296 seats were to be allotted to British India and 93 seats to the Princely States. Out of 296 seats allotted to the British India, 292 members were to be drawn from the eleven governors‘ provinces2 and four from the four chief commissioners‘ provinces3, one from each.

Each province and princely state (or group of states in case of small states) were to be allotted seats in proportion to their respective population. Roughly, one seat was to be allotted for every million population.

Seats allocated to each British province were to be decided among the three principal communities— Muslims, Sikhs and general (all except Muslims and Sikhs), in proportion to their population.

The representatives of each community were to be elected by members of that community in the provincial legislative assembly and voting was to be by the method of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

The representatives of princely states were to be nominated by the heads of the princely states.

Q2. Correct Answer: DExplanation:

The structural part of the Constitution is, to a large extent, derived from the Government of India Act of 1935. The philosophical part of the Constitution (the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy) derives their inspiration from the American and Irish Constitutions respectively. The political part of the Constitution (the principle of Cabinet Government and the relations between the executive and the legislature) has been largely drawn from the British Constitution. In one of the explanations above, refer to the provision of the GoI act, 1935 to understand how these provisions affected the Indian constitution.

Q3. Correct Answer: DExplanation:

This case is not a violation of fundamental right. A hindu temple managed by the state is not a public place where free movement is unrestricted. It is a place which belongs to a certain religious community. It has all the constitutional rights to block the entry of people belonging to other religious communities. Hence, none of the above options would be appropriate as this case is not a violation of fundamental right.

Q4. Correct Answer: BExplanation:

The Constitution of India has opted for the British parliamentary System of Government rather than American Presidential System of Government. The parliamentary system is based on the principle of cooperation and co-ordination between the legislative and executive organs while the presidential system is based on the doctrine of separation of powers between the two organs. The parliamentary system is also known as the Westminster‘ model of government, responsible government and cabinet government. The Constitution establishes the parliamentary system not only at the Centre but also in the states.

The features of parliamentary government in India are:

(a) Presence of nominal and real executives; (b) Majority party rule, (c) Collective responsibility of the executive to the legislature, (d) Membership of the ministers in the legislature, (e) Leadership of the prime minister or the chief minister, (f) Dissolution of the lower House (Lok Sabha or Assembly).

Q5. Correct Answer: CExplanation:

The Constitution of India establishes a federal system of government. It contains all the usual features of a federation, viz., two government, division of powers, written Constitution, supremacy of Constitution, rigidity of Constitution, independent judiciary and bicameralism. However, the Indian Constitution also contains a large number of unitary or non-federal features, viz., a strong Centre, single Constitution, single citizenship, flexibility of Constitution, integrated judiciary, appointment of state governor by the Centre, all-India services, emergency provisions, and so on. Moreover, the term Federation‘ has nowhere been used in the Constitution. Article 1, on the other hand, describes India as a Union of States‘ which implies two things: one, Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement by the states; and two, no state has the right to secede from the federation. Hence, the Indian Constitution has been variously described as federal in form but unitary in spirit‘,‘quasi federal‘ by K C Wheare, bargaining federalism‘ by Morris Jones, cooperative federalism‘ by Granville Austin, federation with a centralising tendency‘ by Ivor Jennings, and so on.

Q6. Correct Answer: AExplanation:

After the acceptance of the Mountbatten Plan of June 3, 1947 for a partition of the country, the representatives of most of the other princely states took their seats in the Assembly. The members of the Muslim League from the Indian Dominion also entered the Assembly.

The Indian Independence Act of 1947 made the following three changes in the position of the Assembly:

The Assembly was made a fully sovereign body, which could frame any Constitution it pleased. The act empowered the Assembly to abrogate or alter any law made by the British Parliament in relation to India.

The Assembly also became a legislative body. In other words, two separate functions were assigned to the Assembly, that is, making of a constitution for free India and enacting of ordinary laws for the country. These two tasks were to be performed on separate days. Thus, the Assembly became the first Parliament of free India (Dominion Legislature). Whenever the Assembly met as the Constituent body it was chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad and when it met as the legislative body, it was chaired by G V Mavlankar. These two functions continued till November 26, 1949, when the task of making the Constitution was over.

Q7. Correct Answer: DExplanation:

It was this committee that was entrusted with the task of preparing a draft of the new Constitution. It consisted of seven members.

The Drafting Committee, after taking into consideration the proposals of the various committees, prepared the first draft of the Constitution of India, which was published in February 1948. The people of India were given eight months to discuss the draft and propose amendments. In the light of the public comments, criticisms and suggestions, the Drafting Committee prepared a second draft, which was published in October 1948.

Q8. Correct Answer: AExplanation:

Charter Act of 1833 This Act was the final step towards centralisation in British India.Features of the Act: 1. It made the Governor-General of Bengal as the Governor-General of India and vested in him all civil and military powers. Thus, the act created, for the first time, a Government of India having authority over the entire territorial area possessed by the British in India. Lord William Bentick was the first governor-general of India.

It deprived the governor of Bombay and Madras of their legislative powers. The Governor-General of India was given exclusive legislative powers for the entire British India. The laws made under the previous acts were called as Regulations while laws made under this act were called as Acts.

It ended the activities of the East India Company as a commercial body, which became a purely administrative body. It provided that the company‘s territories in India were held by it in trust for His Majesty, His heirs and successors‘.

The Charter Act of 1833 attempted to introduce a system of open competition for selection of civil servants, and stated that the Indians should not be debarred from holding any place, office and employment under the Company.

However, this provision was negated after opposition from the Court of Directors.

Q9. Correct Answer: DExplanation:

In tribal areas, fifth and sixth schedule give them greater autonomy, more political rights and a different political structure alongwith regular special incentives from the Union and State governments. In J&K, acts like AFSPA, different constitution, special category status, Article 370 of the constitution etc. create a difference in the status of citizens. Article 371 contains special provisions for Maharashtra and Gujarat. Then follow a stream of special provisions, including Articles 371A (for Nagaland), 371B (Assam), 371C (Manipur), 371D and E (Andhra Pradesh), 371F (Sikkim), 371G (Mizoram), 371H (Arunachal Pradesh), and 371(I) (Goa).

Q10. Correct Answer: DExplanation:

The Indian Constitution not only provides for the legislative, executive and judicial organs of the government (Central and state) but also establishes certain independent bodies. They are envisaged by the Constitution as the bulwarks of the democratic system of Government in India. These are CAG, ECI, UPSC, state public service Commissions etc. The Constitution ensures the independence of these bodies through various provisions like security of tenure, fixed service conditions, expenses being charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, and so on.

Q11. Correct Answer:AExplanation:

The Indian Constitution contains elaborate emergency provisions to enable the President to meet any extraordinary situation effectively. The rationality behind the incorporation of these provisions is to safeguard the sovereignty, unity, integrity and security of the country, the democratic political system and the Constitution.

The Constitution envisages three types of emergencies, namely:

(a) National emergency on the ground of war or external aggression or armed rebellion16 (Article 352); (b) State emergency (President‘s Rule) on the ground of failure of Constitutional machinery in the states (Article 356) or failure to comply with the directions of the Centre (Article 365); and (c) Financial emergency on the ground of threat to the financial stability or credit of India (Article 360).

Q12. Correct Answer:BExplanation:

The Preamble reveals four ingredients or components:

 Source of authority of the Constitution: The Preamble states that the Constitution derives its authority from the people of India.  Nature of Indian State: It declares India to be of a sovereign, socialist, secular democratic and republican polity.  Objectives of the Constitution: It specifies justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as the objectives.  Date of adoption of the Constitution: It stipulates November 26, 1949 as the date.

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